With What Do You Measure God's Love?

Good day to all on this 26th day of September. I had an entire weekend at home!!!!!!! Didn't know what to do with myself so Waine and I entertained which we hadn't done in more than a "minute". The weather is just so great! Its days like this that remind me why we love living in Georgia so much. Waine and I fellowshipped with friends at their church yesterday and were blessed! I was home by 10:30 AM and had the whole day ahead of me which was also wonderful. The pastor also taught from Jeremiah but not a passage I have come to yet so now I am looking forward to it. Also, two different people recommended that I read "Cutting for Stone". I haven't started reading it but wanted to pass on the recommendation.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 12, verses 1-5 " You are always righteous, LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with You about Your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts. Yet You know me, LORD; You see me and test my thoughts about You. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered! Set them apart for the day of slaughter! How long will the land lie parched and the grass in every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked, the animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, “He will not see what happens to us.” Wow. May the Lord add a blessing and understanding to the reading and hearing of His Words!

Do you think Jeremiah was a little miffed? Here he is preaching and living the Word of God and it seems that all the idolaters are prospering even though they do not obey God. Boy was this a revelation for me!  I often have these thoughts and often wonder why people prosper who have not given their lives over to God. I look at the people on Wall Street; look at the people in power and I have had the same conversation with God. At times I find myself in a "pity party" until the Holy Spirit remind me of the "measuring spoon" that I am using. The Holy Spirit also reminds me that I cannot appreciate my own bountiful garden when I am busy looking over the fence at someone elses' garden. The Holy Spirit then also CONVICTS me as to where my treasure lies and then I am humbled. These last several months have been a tour of my faith and the power of my faith. No one can write the end of any of  my "stories" just me and God and I truly praise God for reminding me daily of His Divine presence and intervention in my life and the lives of my family. If you have been measuring your blessings using any thing other than the FULL MEASURE OF GOD's GRACE then I would suggest you retire that spoon and ask God to really reveal all the blessing you are provided daily.  Get you head and heart into the Love of Jesus and I can guarantee you that your cup will run over!

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen

God Has Your Back!

Good morning to all on this 20th day of September. Where has the year gone? My husband is always saying that the older he gets the more time seems to fly. This year certainly has flown by for us. Waine and I are in Atlanta and will enjoy a rare weekend at home and I am thanking God for this blessing. Its just good to wake up in your own bed sometimes. The weather in Atlanta has gone from triple digits to double digits and you can actually wake up and open your windows in the morning and again at night. Please continue to keep the US in your prayers and President Obama in your prayers. You know that God tells us to "owe no man anything except to love him". I am thinking that the debt problem we are having in America is a result of our sin and reliance on a lesser god, money. I am also thinking that America, and indeed the world, should turn to the one and only true God so that this monetary crisis can be solved.

That being said, I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah verses 18-23, "Because the LORD revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time He showed me what they were doing. I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, 'Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.' But you, LORD Almighty, who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have committed my cause. Therefore this is what the LORD says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD or you will die by our hands” therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.” May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

When men and women of God bring forth the Gospel we should expect to be talked about and plotted against. Satan cannot stand that the Word of God be preached to all the nations because that would mean his dominance and dominion in eternity is diminished. Remember that Lucifer fell because he wanted to be greater than his Creator. Instead of worshipping his Creator, he wanted the Creator and all the angels to worship him. His quest and struggle continues even today. There are so many 'gods" that are offered as role models to worship. I recently heard an NPR news articles that interviewed teenagers in Portland and Seattle who were actually idolizing Kurt Cobain, the rock and roll musician who abused drugs and then committed suicide. These teens were actually describing this disturbed musician as someone who should be revered and honored. I immediately began to pray for these kids because that level of confusion only comes from satan.

I also couldn't help but think that we as Christians are not doing our best at Kingdom building if our youth make demi-gods from the likes of rock and roll artists, sports athletes, movie and television stars. Christ and His message is not getting to the masses and because their lives have a void it gets filled with the "trash" of the world instead of the Good News that Christ died for our sins WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS. If you really stop and think about it what else could the world want if it really understood the Message of the Good News! The message of Grace and Mercy has to get out to this world so that our children will not be defiled by the evil one. Trust me, the world is becoming a very hostile place for Christians and the good that you would do is not going to be appreciated by many, but if its absorbed by ONE then that is one more person that will know the  Love of God.

In my quiet time I pray for God's blessings of salvation and prosperity on those that have harmed me or grieved me. It took me a while but in so doing I have changed myself. There is less junk in my trunk. Just like Jeremiah, as obedient servants of Christ, we have to press on to deliver the Good News regardless of the consequences that people want to scare you with. God has you back, front, top, bottom and sides and He will take care of your enemies. When God fights your battles they are fought indeed. Don't get distracted today with the "noise" level of the world. Instead let your light so shine that others may come out of the darkness into the light. Be blessed today.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face to shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace!

Stephanie



Breaking Your Covenant With God

Good morning to all on this 13th day of September. I hadn't realized that it has been 12 days since my last posting. No excuses. Waine and I are in Atlanta and enjoying the cool mornings that the fall brings. It has been a welcomed respite from the triple digit weather we have been experiencing in the South. We spent the last weekend with Kai and Hailie and their parents. They are two of the most enjoyable kids ever. Hailie can light up a room with her smile and Kai has Freddie beat for the "affection meter". My sister Velma drove from Miami to be with us and I appreciated her warmth and love for Freddie and his family. This is the age that I really enjoy my grand children and we are looking forward to Melanie and her family joining us for Thanksgiving. It is a real commitment on their part as they trek from Portland. Their presence will make this an especially memorable Thanksgiving.  God is teaching me daily about FAITH--the ability to believe in the substance of my prayers before they happen. I thought I had learned that lesson but since God is still revealing His truths in this area to me I accept His blessing and thank Him in advance for my abundance.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 11, verses 6-17 "The LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey Me.”  But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep. Then the LORD said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress. What is my beloved doing in My temple as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes? Can consecrated meat avert your punishment? When you engage in your wickedness, then you rejoice. The LORD called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm He will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. The LORD Almighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused My anger by burning incense to Baal." Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Words.

These physical descendants of Abraham were given a COVENANT with God, Jehovah. The covenant was a PROMISE and had conditions - 1) love and serve the One True God, Jehovah and 2) obey His commandments. Now these physical children of Abraham were great at recording history and teaching them to their young. They knew the story of Abraham, of Moses and of Arron. They knew that they as a people were provided a covenant with God because of the faithfulness of Abraham and their other forefathers and what do they do? They start worshipping other gods and disobeying God Jehovah. They broke the covenant and in these series of verses God is telling Jeremiah to tell the Israelites that they would suffer the consequences of this breach in the Covenant. Just as Adam and Eve suffered the consequences of breaking their covenant with God, so too would the children of Israel. There is a lesson in this. God never breaks His covenants and covenants always comes with conditions.

We are the spiritual descendant of Abraham and we too have a covenant with God through Christ. The conditions are the same - 1) love and serve the One True God, Jehovah through Jesus the Christ and 2) obey His commandment to love one another just as we have been loved by God through Christ. When we breach this covenant relationship we allow calamity to enter our lives AND block the abundance that God has REALIZED for us. You see, we never have to wait on God for His portion of the Covenant with us. Once He speaks the covenant (eternal life through acceptance of His Son, Jesus the Christ) God has deposited His portion into our Spiritual bank. So why are there so many stressed out, unhappy Christians?  Simply put, we don't believe the Promise. We talk the Pomise but don't walk the Promise. We are always looking to FULFILL for some future date the result of the covenant when all we have to do is CLAIM AND THEN ACCEPT THE COVENANT BLESSING. I am reminded of the children of the Exodus. The Promised Land could be seen all during the time they wandered in the wilderness. A journey that took 40 YEARS was meant to take 2 days. Why?? The sins of the Children of Exodus!!

What "40 year" journey are you on? Tired of traveling. Tired of looking for your abundant future. Then STOP, DROP and ROLL and proclaim this day that your abundance has arrived! Hallelujah and I pray that you will realize this day the abundance that God has for you, not in the future but today.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.

Stephanie